How To Get Approved for Google AdSense

Google AdSense is the most popular option for monetizing online content by displaying advertising. However, to use this revenue generating tool, you must first get approved for AdSense.

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Apply Account Approval

You have to create a Google AdSense account before you can be approved. To apply for your AdSense account, go to www.google.com/adsense.

If you already have a user account that you use for other Google services such as Gmail or Google Apps, you can use that same account for your AdSense account if you wish. However, it can be useful to separate business usage from personal usage, so if your current Google username and password are primarily used for personal reasons, consider creating a new Google account for business usage only. Whether you create a new account or use an existing account, log in with your username and password to apply for a Google AdSense account.

To apply, fill out the simple AdSense signup form. Keep in mind that unlike other Google services, your application must be accepted before you can start using AdSense to display advertisements on your website. The most important thing to remember is that this one-page form constitutes your entire application to the Google AdSense program. There is nowhere to include any sort of additional explanation or clarification of your plans or qualifications to use Google AdSense. Therefore, this singe application must be completed smartly to maximize your chances of being approved for an AdSense account.

Most of the AdSense application form is pretty straightforward, especially for residents of the United States. However, like all other businesses, Google is subject to various rules and regulations regarding the transfer of money to international accounts. This factor can complicate applications for non-US residents, particularly those from countries whose economic or political systems don't match up well with the U.S. system. As a general rule of thumb, Canada and European countries, as well as Japan and South Korea are the easiest countries to be approved from outside of the United States.

Finally, it is important to understand that unless you have established a formal, tax-paying, business entity, you need to enter your real personal information in the fields for name, address, city, state, and zip. Google is required to comply with various IRS rules and requirements for reporting payments to participants in the AdSense program. While it is not necessarily made clear at this point, anyone earning any meaningful compensation from AdSense will be required to provide and verify a taxpayer identification number such as a social security number or Employer Identification Number (EIN). These numbers will need to match up to the information provided at sign up to avoid issues later.

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Getting Approved

The actual approval process for AdSense is the subject of much consternation online. Fortunately, most of this angst is misplaced. Getting approved for AdSense is actually quite easy once you understand Google's point of view about new AdSense applications.

Remember that Google has millions of participants in the AdSense program. The task of generating checks alone would overwhelm most businesses. Even with enormous amounts of automation, Google must ensure that it is worth it to create each new account. With that in mind, the company tries to weed out AdSense application for several easy to overcome reasons.

The first step in the approval is proving that you can even display AdSense ads. Google gets numerous applications from people who don't own a website, or do not have the access necessary to setup the code installation on the site. That makes the site entered in the first field of the application critical to the success of your applications. Be sure the website demonstrates that you will be able to add AdSense code by having some form of JavaScript already running.

The second step in the approval process is verifying that you can be paid based on the information you entered on your application. As a rule, if a bank would not accept a check made out to the name you entered on your application the AdSense account will be denied. For example, banks will not deposit checks with nothing but initials on them. Google also verifies application addresses for US residents using verification tools from the U.S. Post Office. If your address shows up as invalid or otherwise does not check out, your application will be denied.

Google needs to ensure that this isn't just some spur of the moment flight of fancy that you will forget about tomorrow. Numerous unused or underused accounts already clutter the AdSense system. To prove that you are serious about running a website and serving Google's advertisements, you need to have a "fully launched" website. A single "under construction" page can undermine an application, as can unmodified defaults from systems like WordPress.

Google also tries to weed out charlatans, spammers, and other unsavory operations at the application stage. The AdSense program may be profitable for all types of content publishers, but it is only valuable to paying advertisers if the system maintains a minimal level of integrity. To that end, there must be several accessible pages on your website. These pages should contain information of some kind and not just links, advertisements, or redirects. Consider applying with a website that has at least 20 different pages of unique content, with each page having at least 500 words. While you can be approved with less, this will maximize your approval chances.

Finally, Google verifies that your website used on the application already meets all of the terms and conditions of the AdSense program. That means that the site cannot be a MFA (Made for AdSense) website. It also must be written in one of the supported languages. Most importantly, it must not contain ANY type of prohibited content. A huge website of meaningful information can be denied over a single webpage showing adult content.

Once you have been approved for AdSense, you can create ads for additional websites without further approval. Therefore, it is best practice to apply with your best and most established website. For new content publishers or web developers, wait until your website has several pages indexed by Google before applying.

Follow these AdSense application tips to apply for Google AdSense and your approval for an account is almost guaranteed.